Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Deer Lost = using a 243

I've killed a few beers in Utah, even back in the day when you had to join a "club" to do it....

Any 500 pounders???

I'll but in for Flinch as Ive seen the pics of the pig in question and know where it was shot. Don't know for certain a weight, but do remember that it completely filled the bed of a Toyota pickup. IIRC the pics of it being loaded were posted here a long time ago. And yes it was shot in Utah, as I looked into going to the same preserve in Box Elder county.

i know there are pigs all over the u.s. as i have seen the map of the spread of pigs thru out the u.s.i have killed pigs in calif. and many southern states and elder county utah is not a big pig hunting area for damn sure, i also remember the days when utah was a boyb state and the only beer you could buy was from a state liquior store, and you had to belong to private club to drink in public, they would sell you coke,7 up and such, you had to bring your on booze.also pigs dont get to 500# without a hell of a food supply,i think some farmer is missing a pig, but then i could be wrong. rio7

Maybe you missed the preserve part of my post. They are not free range, it's a fenced hunting deal.

that explains it.

Flinch - I do recall someone saying the Mulie I killed in Rifle, CO that was so good eating had a good diet, vs. other parts of CO that offer different food supply.

I am not from the West but know things vary depending where...and no hard/fast ABSOLUTE rules on what game may or may not taste well. All we can do is get a clean kill, dress/prepare the meat as best possible, and hope we don't get that oddity where it's almost inedible.

One thing I have noticed, meat consistently seems best when doing it yourself. I am very convinced that at least around here, the 'processors' simply put them all on an assembly line and give you a ration! Lol. As I am unconvinced that many places separate each animal.

I may be very wrong and wish/hope that is the case, but experience - well, I am about done w/paying someone to process MY animal that I ensure has been quickly properly dressed before they receive it, and not ensured I get MY meat that I dropped off.

Ahhh yes Flinch, I fondly remember that Elk-expedition you "guided" me on (out around Saragosa, wasn't it ?) .... but I believe you are once-again exaggerating .... If I recall, there were only 13 big branch-bulls we had to choose from (grin). Folks, Ya' gotta watch that guy, he tends to stretch the truth a little ... which I would never do. ( cough - cough ) ...

These bulls were harassing some local ranchers each evening, eating their rose bushes and stomping around, leaving muddy hoof-prints on their front porches. So, we drove up early in the morning, planning to whack a bull, as they slowly filtered back into the timber to bed. It was colder than a Snowmans butt-cheeks that morning (around 7 degrees out), spitting snow, with a 15-20 mph wind added on top !

Anyway, the drifted snow was really deep ... Here's a photo of Flinch, standing next to my "tasty" 6x6 bull. The bull died standing-up, sinking belly-deep into the snow. We had to excavate him first, just so Flinch could crawl inside and gut him out ... ( I think he was really just trying to get out of the wind) ! Then, without breaking a sweat ... Flinch transported the bull (whole), 1/4 mile up into the wind shadow of the co-operative ranchers haystacks.

I'm thinking that part of the reason this mature bull tasted so-good, was the speed of processing him and how fast he was cooled down. Three of us quickly had him skinned, then Flinch and Chris put on a display with their knives, boning out that elk ... blades flashing in the early morning sunlight, that would have brought tears to the eyes of a Samurai. We would lay the meat cuts briefly on a thin tarp in the snow, to further cool. I was kept busy ferrying nearly-frozen chunks, into the 2 large coolers. When they were done, there was just a pile of white bones left.

... Silver Bullet

Racing has been popular ... since they built the 2nd car. - Richard Petty

Easy there Rio, don't get your nickers in a wad. The one I shot was not a free range boar and I never said it was. The 2,000 acres I shot him on is bordered by a large river (Bear River) on one side and high fence on the other. It is marsh land with a lot of willows and scrub brush. The thick brush makes the pig hunting tough and this was the only one I saw. The pigs do very well in there, due to all the feed. It was just a fun hunt to do over a long winter. The domestic pigs are crossed with Russian bores and get HUGE. Here is just the head. I'm 6"2', if that gives you a little reference to the size.



This is a Texas hunt I did with a couple of fellow campfire members two years ago. That was one day of spot and stock. There are 18 pigs in the truck....and that wasn't all of them.

Flinch,

That Utah hog is, well, a HOG!

I had to throw rocks at the sow to get her away from that piglet Up to that particular date, he was the biggest pig ever killed on the ranch over many years. The guy that owns it was amazed and said, "I have never seen this pig before! He's a HOG!"

I talked to the land owner last year and they had recently killed a 720 lb. hog on the ranch!!! He made mine look dinky. He didn' know that one existed either. Several hunters reported being charged by a giant boar. The hunters told stories that a 700+ monster chased them through the brush with bared tusks. The owner played it off as "exaggeration and hunting stories", until he saw it dead. He had pictures of him in his booth. It was more like a Rhino than a hog.

These hogs don't have big tusks, but what they lack in tusks, they make up for in size and temper, due to the Russian in them. They have had a lot of close calls with hunters. The big hogs get cornered up against the river and come at the hunters. It's a fun "hunt" to say the least. Flinch

Haulin Hogs! Nice pic!

720 is a B E A S T !!!

Shot my last 100 grain BT .243 deer about 30 years ago. (Bullet technology has come a long way since then.) Quartering facing shot to shoulder. The bullet blew apart. In butchering the animal, I found part of the jacket in the spine. That was likely what killed him . After that I switched to 100 grain Partitions when using the .243. Results have been great. Friends who use them report good results with 85 grain TSX. IMO, the .243 is enough gun for deer if one selects bullets and shots. jack

Flinch, it that the outfit outta Corrine? My B-I-L and I are going to be doing the "hunt" this spring. Im just curious.

Jack, don't overlook the fantastic 95 BT, it's my all around pick as if I need something tougher in 6mm, it's going to be a Barnes 80 or 85, as I'd expect it to equal/surpass a Partition in penetration, and weight retention, while leaving a FULL mushroom in front....

All 3 have an OUTSTANDING track record on game...other bullets work well too, but I look at several dimensions of bullet performance:

1) Accuracy

2) Downrange performance = expansion/wt. retention and energy/mv retention due to BC and weight

3) Cost? Yes, it matters - but a few bullets that you use in a season on game is miniscule vs. all other expenses...

No doubt the PT is proven, but the BT seems to give a combo of accuracy, expansion, retention/penetration - to a degree that I can ask for nothing more - inc. how short an animal will travel when hit thru vitals.

Just my choice having seen them go into 1/2" at 200 yds is perhaps giving bias Never recovered any but everything hit dropped in short order.

The rifle is a Ruger MKII and we put a Boyds nutmeg laminate on it for a stock. The stock was also pillar and glass bedded. It really likes those 90 gr. E-tips at 3140 fps.

It was said in fun as elk are part of the deer family, and if a 6mm or 243 can take a "large deer" like this one, a smaller 200 pound animal should not be much trouble.
David

As a young man, the .243 with 100 gr partitions was my primary whitetail rifle. I never found that combo lacking in any way. I got older and had to play with .308s, .280s, .7-08s & .30-06s.

Ken

That be the outfit. Are you working with Todd? He is a great guy and you will have a great time. He has some fabulous exotic sheep and goats on the ranch as well. Bring your check book ;o) Flinch

I'm not sure. My bro in law doing all of it. We are just going after hogs. I'll be using my Taurus Tracker 44 mag.